7 days, 7 months, 7 years
by Asrith33
Summary: Before he joined the guild, Natsu was happily living with his father Igneel; but something happened one day that separated them forever. Now, memories of that time have come to haunt Natsu, and his friends try desperately to bring Natsu back to the present. Meanwhile, a new threat arises that has Fairy Tail thrown into a decade long conflict, that is somehow tied to Natsu's past.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1 edited

Natsu thrashed in his covers as traumatizing scenes flashed through his mind. Memories of strange men, pain, and a deafening roar had him gasping for breath as he jolted awake. His breathing was erratic, and he clutched at his chest as he tried to calm down. Happy watched silently from the couch, not daring to move, lest he provoke Natsu into attacking. With every bad dream that Natsu had, an increasing level of hostility came with it. He had lashed out more than once at Happy in his fits of terror. Natsu groaned and curled his knees into his chest, trying to slow his breathing and slow his rapidly beating heart. After several moments, Natsu's breathing slowed, and he was left tangled in his blanket, his skin tingling with sweat.

He turned to see his closest friend nestled snugly among the cushions of the couch. The cute Exceed's brow was creased in worry, and he seemed ready to bolt if Natsu showed any sign of hostility. Natsu swallowed before taking a calming breath.

"It's okay, Happy; I'm calm now," he said, gesturing for the blue cat to approach

Happy carefully stepped forward, still weary around the frightened Dragon Slayer.

Natsu scowled. "I said I'm all right, damn it!"

Happy jumped forward, landing softly in Natsu's arms.

"Are you okay, Natsu?" Happy asked in his high pitched voice. "I can get you a fish to make you feel better."

"I'm alright; Natsu said, combing his fingers calmingly through Happy's soft fur. "I just need to go out for a minute, just go back to sleep Happy."

The little blue cat watched as Natsu dressed and pulled on his sandals. He worried about Natsu, he'd been having these dreams more and more often, and they obviously did something to Natsu that nothing else could. Natsu would always wake up like he had tonight, full of fear and violence and rage. It was scary to witness, and the blue exceed could do nothing for his best friend. Happy watched as Natsu opened the door to their small home and smiled at Happy, trying to reassure him; but it only made him more worried.

"I'll see you in a little bit Happy, get some rest while I'm gone."

With that, the Dragon Slayer shut the door softly and quietly pattered down their stone walkway. Happy watched him go and couldn't help but feel something ominous about Natsu leaving. He shook off the feeling, and tried to convince himself that the dragon slayer would be fine, He was from Fairy Tail after all!

Yet he still worried.

The little cat paced the entire length of their floor plan, thinking about what should be done to help Natsu. Natsu would never consent to see a Psychiatrist, there were some things he wouldn't even tell Happy, much less a total stranger. But maybe there was someone else.

Happy, sure of his plan, hopped out of their house's only window and flew as fast as he could toward Magnolia. He had to see her, she was the only one who could get Natsu out of his funk and Happy was sure, that if she couldn't help, then no one could.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2 edited

**Notes: Sorry to all of you guys who were confused about the name change, the original just wasn't doing it for me. I'm horrible at coming up with names for books (leave that to the professionals) so I am open to any ideas you guys might have for this particular book title (I'm still not sure about the new one, even though it sounded like genius twelve o' clock at night).**

As Natsu silently slunk into the shelter of the woods, Happy was flying with all his might towards Strawberry Street. After he had left the house, his feeling of dread for Natsu's wellbeing had only grown stronger. His worry was not misplaced, and he knew the time was pat due for Natsu to get some outside help. Finally, he reached the street of tall apartment buildings. The city was silent; nobody was out this early in the morning, save for a ferryman quietly poling his small boat down the river.

Happy flew up to Lucy's second story window and scratched his paw against the glass. Lucy had taken to locking her window in order to keep Natsu and Happy out, and needless to say, Natsu didn't appreciate it.

Happy scratched harder on the glass, emitting a horrible screeching peal that made him want to chop his own ears off. Still, Lucy did not hear. Happy started banging on the glass with his soft cushioned fists, trying desperately to wake her.

Suddenly, the pane popped loose and crashed to the floor, shattering into a million pieces on the stone. Happy peeked into the apartment, ready to bear Lucy's wrath, but none came. Happy hopped into the small apartment and quickly perused Lucy's entire house, only to find no one there.

Happy quickly climbed back up the window and took off over the street, flying towards the only other place that Lucy could be; to Fairy Tail.

FT

Natsu stared out across the lake, struggling to enjoy the peace and quiet of the environment around him. An old oak tree on the far bank had captured his attention, and he stared at it with an overwhelming sense of nostalgia.

It was becoming too hard to stay in the forest, to stay around Magnolia. Everything was beginning to remind him of those days, the ones he had spent with his father. Those days had been the happiest of his life, yet it was all taken so suddenly that he was left gasping for breath early every morning as he was forced to re-live every tiny detail of that time.

_He remembered Igneel, teaching him how to fish for the very first time. It also happened to be his first swimming lesson._

_Igneel said, "The biggest fish dwell on the bottom of the lake. If you can hold your breath long enough, and if you're quick enough, you can catch one and bring it back up."_

_"But I don't know how to swim," Natsu complained. "Besides, why do I need to learn how to catch fish if you can do it?"_

_"Well I could certainly catch a fish in half the time you could, but fishing is a valuable skill. You can use it to provide for a family one day."_

_Natsu blushed, his cheeks matching the same color as his hair. "I- I don't need one of those, I have you, Dad; I don't need anyone else as long as you're here."_

_The dragon chuckled, nudging Natsu towards the water. "But I will not always be here Natsu, so while I am, I will teach you all that I can to prepare you for the outside world."_

_And with that, he shoved Natsu into the water, which barely made a splash as his tiny body sunk under the surface. Natsu kicked with all his might to get to the surface, but he could not, so he figured the next sensible thing to do would be to simply sink to the bottom and catch a fish._

_After some time, out of bounds of anything a normal human could possibly do, Natsu reached the bottom. He immediately spotted a large catfish lazing around among the mossy rocks. Natsu darted forward, and before the fish could even think to react, it was firmly in his grasp. _

_Natsu squeezed the fish tight, fearing it would slip from his grasp. The fishes eyes nearly bugged out of its head, Natsu's grip was so hard. Natsu paddled with one hand, holding the fish to his chest with the other. Finally, he broke the surface of the water, coughing and sputtering as he paddled towards the shore._

_Igneel was still waiting on the bank, calm, despite the fact that Natsu had been under for nearly five minutes. Natsu held the large catfish up in his hand, proudly presenting it to his father. Igneel smiled and nodded his head at his son as he sat next to his huge talons._

_"Very good Natsu, you learn quickly."_

_Natsu beamed, glad to hear his father's praise. "I thought I was going to drown on the last bit. My chest started to hurt and water got in my nose." As if to demonstrate, Natsu stuck his finger in his nose and jerked his head back, and tossed the fish over his head for extra effect. _

_Igneel laughed, a deep rolling sound akin to thunder echoed off the trees, and Natsu smiled even wider. If his father was happy, then he was happy._

_"Do you know what the purpose of this lesson was, Natsu?" Igneel asked, earning a shrug from his young son. "As I said before, I will not always be around, and you must learn to take care of yourself. There will even come a day that you will wish to leave, and I will not stop you; but I will not leave you without even the most basic of knowledge."_

_Natsu pouted. "Then why won't you let me see any humans," he challenged, peering up at Igneel's lofty height. "I bet they know loads of stuff." Natsu smiled innocently, but Igneel saw right through his son's clever subject change. He was silent for a moment as he studied his son, contemplating the best way to approach this tender subject._

_"Natsu," Igneel began, trying to explain to the boy in a way that he would understand. "I recall telling you once that Humans are very dangerous, and that you should not actively search for them like you do every time I leave you alone."_

_Natsu gasped, unable to believe that he had been caught. "I-I don't know what you're talking about," he mumbled, avoiding eye contact as his father stared him down. Igneel huffed and lowered his head so that one, huge, solemn eye was staring into Natsu's small green ones._

_"Natsu, listen to me when I tell you; humans are not safe. They destroy, murder, and don't care what anyone else thinks of them. Humans are heartless, and many would not hesitate at the thought of hurting you."_

_Natsu just stared at his scaly father, not really absorbing a single word that Igneel was saying. Igneel sighed and nudged Natsu softly with his snout, still staring the young boy in the eyes._

_"Natsu… I don't want to lose you, so promise me you'll stop looking for humans while I'm gone. It makes me nervous knowing that while I'm gone you could be taken." Natsu nodded his head, and all Igneel could do was hope he would keep his promise._


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3 edited

Happy fluttered uneasily as the lights from the guild hall finally came into view. Now that he had gotten to the guild, he wondered how he would explain the situation to everyone. You didn't just come out and say that Natsu of all people was having nightmares.

He fretted silently as he entered the nearly empty guild. He was surprised that there were people hanging around so early in the morning. Mirajane was humming from behind the counter as she began prepping for the long day of service, Knob was still standing in front of the request board, and Cana had already started on her third beer stein of the day.

Several other members were milling about as well, but Happy did not spot Lucy among them. He sullenly floated over to Mira and collapsed on the bar top, defeated.

Mira noticed Happy's pouting in sidled over to him.

"What's wrong Happy? Did you and Natsu get into a fight?"

Happy shook his head as best as he could from his face-planted position on the counter. Mirajane frowned and lifted up the blue exceed, trying her best to find the source of his depression.

"Awwww… did Carla reject you?"

Happy seemed to gain an energy boost at hearing those words and puffed out his chest defiantly.

"Carla would never reject me," he yelled confidently, "I just haven't asked her yet because I haven't found the perfect fish to give her. When I do ask her, she'll be so stunned that rejection will never cross her mind!"

Mira laughed at the exceeds brashness and hoped that Happy's plan followed through, otherwise he'd be heartbroken.

Mira waited for him to calm down and then asked him why he was so depressed before. Happy's good mood disappeared as he remembered why he came in the first place.

"I was looking for Lucy, but I can't find her anywhere."

Mira quickly pulled out the request book and scanned through the pages until she came on the records. She flipped the book around for Happy to see and tapped a spot where Lucy's pretty handwriting filled the square next to the request.

"Levy and Lucy went on a request to move all the books out of an old library in Hargeon to a newer one so that the old one can be remolded. They won't be expected bask for a few weeks."

"Eeh! How big is the library?" Happy yelled; it couldn't possibly take that long to move books.

"Pretty big," Mira replied, "Says here that it's the third biggest in Fiore and is one of the oldest as well."

Happy groaned; there was no way he could wait that long for Lucy to return.

Mira smiled, stowing away the request book. She sat in silence with the exceed for a moment, letting him sulk.

"Why are you looking for Lucy?"

"Natsu has been having trouble sleeping." The blue cat replied, which was far too vague for her to properly understand his meaning.

Happy went on. "I went to her house to ask her to help, but the window was locked because Natsu used to come in through there and sleep in Lucy's bed, and then I accidentally broke it and found out she wasn't home, and now I'm here."

Mira blushed as she interpreted an entirely different meaning from the Exceed's story.

_'Natsu was sleeping in Lucy's bed!? Does that mean that they were dating? They must have, but then they broke up and Lucy wouldn't let Natsu come anymore. Now Natsu can't sleep without Lucy; ooh that's so cute!'_

Happy watched as Mira descended into her fantasy world, already imagining what Natsu and Lucy's baby would look like. Just as Happy made to leave, Mira grabbed the blue exceed, determined to help Natsu with his problem. Mira was going to live up to her self-appointed nickname, miss, knows-everything-about-relationships-and-can-solve-all-your-problems.

"Happy when you get home, tell Natsu that he needs to tell Lucy how he feels, and that he enjoys being with her and that he can't sleep without her. He needs to tell her that he wants to get married and have five kids, and that the wedding cake _must_ be vanilla and strawberry." Mira shook him as she said this, emphasizing her point at each statement by rocking Happy harder.

Happy reeled at the barrage of information, his eyes rolling back into his head as Mira shook him around. He was absolutely sure that he was going to have brain damage for the rest of his life. When Mira finally released him, he was dazedly floating back to the Guild's entrance, images of strawberry cake swimming about his head.

FT

Meanwhile, Natsu was struggling to gain control of his wild emotions. An avalanche of memories kept threatening to drown him in raw emotion that they pulled the fraying strings that was his sanity. Natsu had fallen, writhing in pain as his head throbbed in harmony with his fast pulse. His brain felt like it was being shredded to pieces, as if someone had let loose a wild herd of exceeds and his head was a scratching post. He screamed as his brain seemed to split open, and clear visions began playing in the forefront of his mind.

_Igneel had left again; it wasn't a very uncommon occurrence, Igneel would leave every month for a few days, and then come back. Natsu never asked where he went every time and Igneel never told, Natsu could accept his foster father's privacy and never thought otherwise. _

_Natsu actually used those days to go exploring; mapping out the forest outside of the cave and the path to the lake. _

_He couldn't help but remember the warning Igneel had given him that day, about the promise he had made. But he never remembered it for long, because his search would always inevitably turn towards humans._

_Every time his father left, he would press deeper into the woods than he had the last time, always hoping to see some sign of human habitation. However, his efforts were fruitless, and Igneel would often return to find Natsu in a temperamental mood._

_One day, after he had already given up searching for humans, Natsu had been wandering aimlessly through the woods. Coincidentally, Natsu happened to look up and spot a pillar of smoke rising high above the trees. Puzzled, he went to investigate._

_What he found was more than he was prepared for._

_Bear traps, animal skins, magic guns, and boxes of bait were all that greeted him as he approached the camp. The metallic scent of blood filled his nostrils, and the creeping feeling of death made a shiver run up his spine. He wasn't at all bothered by the sight of animal skin, but something else did bother him; all the wasted pieces._

_Meat had been left to rot in this camp sight. Dozens of animal carcasses had been gutted, skinned, and stripped of all their juicy meat, and they weren't even eating it. All the skins had been neatly stacked onto a wagon, most likely ready to leave for the nearest town to be sold to a tanner._

_Natsu could smell where the organs and flesh of the animals had been carried off and buried so that not even scavengers could salvage the meat. Natsu could see the skins of animals that Igneel told him were rare, and shouldn't be eaten. He clenched his fist in barley suppressed anger._

_How could they do this? This couldn't be the work of humans, creatures he admired and sought after so committedly. Tears began to fall from his eyes as the dragon part of him accepted the discovery and demanded he move on; but the human part of him would not let it go._

_The sound of a twig snapping behind him caused Natsu to whirl around in panic. He could hear the clumsy movements of several humans drawing near. He panicked, knowing that there was no time for him to sprint into the woods. He ducked behind the wagon just as the first human emerged from the woods._

_He quickly flopped onto his belly and crawled under the wagon, trying to get a better look at the creatures. There were five of them, but they weren't nearly as remarkable as Natsu had believed they would be, in fact they were kind of boring. Natsuu pouted as he realized that the humans were just like him, just larger and uglier._

_However, as they began to settle in; Natsu did notice a large difference between himself and them. They didn't have wings, or even a tail for that matter. Well, neither did he… most of the time._

_Natsu flinched as a pair of steel toed boots clomped down heavily in front of his face, and had to clamp his mouth shut to keep from crying out. _

_"Hey Bard, we ready to get a move on, I want to be back to the city by nightfall."_

_One of the men leaning over the fire nodded sullenly as the others in the group began to pack up. The man with the steel toed boots moved into Natsu's line of sight as he moved away from the wagon, and Natsu wrinkled his nose in disgust._

_The man was huge, easily topping six feet tall. He had greasy black hair and was missing far too many teeth, and his nose looked like it had been broken a few times, and almost looked completely squashed against his face. His clothes looked like they had once been expensive, but were now tattered and worn, covered in old blood stains. _

_He leaned on Bard and popped a cigar in his mouth, puffing for a moment as the man next to him looked away uncomfortably._

_"You see that there," the man said, gesturing to the wagon hanging over Natsu's head. "That right there is going to make me rich, and it's all thanks to you man. You worked so hard to track all those animals for me; I almost don't want to let you go."_

_Bard's head shot up. "What about by family?" He protested, fear prominent in his features. "You said you would let them go if I helped you on this last haul, and if you got over a 500,000 jewels profit you would let me go too."_

_The cigar man draped his arm over Bards shoulder and leaned in close, blowing smoke in the man's face._

_"Well, you see, we were hoping that we could reach a million jewels if you managed to catch that Rainbow bird, but sadly, you didn't, which may have just hurt your chances a bit."_

_"But you could still get a little more than half a million with what I got you!"_

_"Now ya' see Bard, it doesn't work quite like that. First, we got to subtract the costs of feeding your family, the costs of buying all this equipment, the payment my men deserve for their labor and a dozen other things. The profit is really quite small, really only a quarter million."_

_Bard paled as he realized what a serious situation he was in. he had no choice but to comply, seeing as his entire family was on the line. The cigar man took another puff from is cigar and laughed at Bards distress. _

_The crew quickly finished packing away the camp supplies and loaded onto the wagon. Bard made as if to join them, but was pushed away by one of the men. He was about to protest, but suddenly one held a gun up to his chest. Bard raised his hands in the air and slowly backed away as the wagon began to move._

_Natsu scrambled to flip over on his back and grab the wagons axel before he was exposed. The man with the gun stayed behind with Bard, slowly backing him up towards a tree._

_As the wagon made a sharp turn on the dirt path, Natsu quickly detached himself from the wagons underside and ran back to the camp. He wanted to help Bard, but he also didn't want to be caught by these people. He crouched behind a tree to watch the confrontation between the two humans._

_Bard had backed up to the far end of the camp, the gunman following in his wake. Natsu quietly crept along the edge of the clearing, trying to get a better view. Every muscle in his body was screaming for him to run; but he couldn't, he wanted to see how this all played out._

_The gunman stopped in the middle of the clearing, letting Bard make more distance, but kept his aim centered on the other man's chest._

_"The boss has got one more job for you, if you'll take it." The man said, a mocking lilt in his tone._

_"I thought he wanted you to kill me," Bard responded, finally settling next to a large oak tree at the edge of the clearing._

_"Oh don't get me wrong, he does, but where would be the fun in killing you if we didn't get one more bit of work out of you."_

_The man lowered his gun, casually unloading the weapons magic bullets._

_"So here's the deal; you and me are going to go hunting for a particular creature. If we find it, we'll kill it, and bring it back to the boss. When we get it to the boss and if he gets a good profit on it, we'll let your family go, but sadly, you'll have to die since you know too much. On the other hand, if we don't find the creature and get a good profit, we will kill your family and drop you into the ring with a couple of Vulcans and see how long you're hunting skills last. So what say you?"_

_Bard stood frozen, trying to process all the information. His fists clenched and unclenched and sweat poured down his brow. He had already gone through so much to protect his family, all so he go on living with them, and now that wouldn't be an option. He would die no matter what he did._

_The hunter nodded slowly, trying to assure himself as he made his decision. If his family lived, then he would be happy, even if he died in the end. They would be sad when they heard of his death, but he would rather them be sad than dead._

_"So what is this creature that I am hunting down?"_

_The other man smiled manically as he slid his gun into its holster. The boss would be pleased to hear this. They were going to be rich soon, all because of this naïve idiot._

_"You best prepare yourself, Bard. We're going dragon hunting."_

**Notes: Sorry this took so long, I was at my grandparents' house for most of the week and they don't have wi-fi L. Anyways, please comment or leave a review.**

**(P.S. I might begin to fall behind on chapter updates here pretty soon, my vacation is about to start so I'll probably neglect my writing. Keep reading everyone!)**


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes: If anyone is still looking for the next chapter in "The Soul Eater," that story no longer exists. I deleted it because I have absolutely run out of steam for that story, no inspiration what so ever. I do, however, have plenty of inspiration for this story so settle in; this is going to be a bumpy ride.**

**Disclaimer: I have not yet stolen the rights for Fairy Tail from Hiro**

Chapter 4 edited

Natsu gasped as he regained control of his senses, forcing down the images by will alone. He sat there on the lake's shore, struggling to contain all the emotions flowing forth from his past. Why now of all times would he remember those days, the final moments he spent with his father? He had gone on living without thinking of such things, but here he was, gasping for breath as he drowned in pain and sorrow.

He slowly uncurled from his crouched position and stretched his weary muscles. He was exhausted, completely emotionally spent. A slight twinge of pain resounded down the muscles of his back and down to his tail bone. He rubbed the ginger areas as he began the trek back home.

He reached his home in the woods just as dawn began to break, and the first light of day began to drive away the dark. He shuffled silently into the house, not wanting to disturb Happy, and climbed into his hammock. Slowly, his eyes closed, and he quickly gave in to the beckoning calls of sleep. He would risk more nightmares if it meant he could sleep for just a few hours.

FT

When Happy finally returned to the house, Natsu was passed out in his hammock, gently swinging back and forth. Happy smiled softly as he watched Natsu; this was the most sleep that the dragon slayer had probably had in days. He flew up to the rafters and settled down on the pillow he kept there and silently drifted off to sleep.

FT

Lucy sneezed and a huge cloud of dust flew up into her face, sending her into a coughing fit. Levy swished her hand through the air to clear the stifling cloud, not looking up from the book she was reading.

"I think someone is talking about me," Lucy moaned, shuffling through the huge piles of books surrounding her on all sides.

"That's just a myth Lucy. If people sneezed every time someone talked about them, then all of Fairy Tail would be sneezing twenty-four-seven," Levy said, glancing up at the blond mage for a moment.

Lucy hopped into the air, trying to see over the huge mountain of books. She knew that the library had an excess of books, but this was ridiculous. Books stretched infinitely towards the ceiling in every direction, jutting out like jagged mountain peaks.

Lucy spotted several of her spirits helping in the moving effort. Taurus was pulling a wagon full of books back and forth between the two libraries, and Virgo was sorting them into piles of fiction and non-fiction. Levy and Lucy would come in and sort the books into their respectable subject piles once they had been transported. She quickly gave up trying to see past the enormous stacks and sat down quietly next to Levy.

Suddenly, Levy jumped up into the air, shoving the book she had been reading into Lucy's face.

"Look Lucy," she said excitedly. "I think I found a permanent Troia spell! We could use this on Natsu and Gajeel so they don't get motion sickness!"

Lucy took the book from the solid-script mage's hands and quickly glanced over the spell, trying to translate the ancient symbols. She wasn't too sure it was a Troia spell.

"Are you sure Levy, that doesn't seem right? I think you confused the word for motion with the word for sound."

Levy huffed, snatching the book away from Lucy. "Who's the solid-script mage here?"

Lucy rolled her eyes as Levy scanned back over the script, a determined look on her face.

"I'm sure this is a spell that invokes Troia, but why don't we test it just to be sure."

Lucy gaped, she couldn't be serious. "W-we can't just test a spell that you're not completely certain about, what if it's like a death spell or something?"

"I'm sure it's not. Come on Lucy, I just want to try it out, use me as the guinea pig, if nothing happens, then we know it worked. Please do it."

A bead of sweat rolled down Lucy's head as she took the book from Levy, earning an excited fist bump from the bluenett. Lucy scanned the text again, pronouncing each syllable in her head before she said it aloud. Finally, she spoke the aloud and a tiny bit of magic floated from the book and towards Levy's body, who tensed up in anticipation. When Lucy finished, she watched Levy for a moment, sure that she would explode or something; but there was nothing.

She smiled triumphantly and began to laugh, but then her face contorted in horror as she realized that something was horribly wrong.

She had no voice.

Lucy couldn't help but laugh as Levy flailed about, knocking over piles of books as she threw a tantrum. Her eyes shot daggers at Lucy and she snatched the book from her hands. She frantically flipped through its pages, not finding anything that could , she calmed down and sullenly plopped down on the pile of books that was her seat.

Lucy took the book from Levy and tried to find the unmuting spell, but there was no such luck. She sat down next to Levy who was silently crying her eyes out, her sobs unheard by the world.

"It'll be okay Levy, when we get back to Fairy Tail we can ask Wendy to fix this. Hopefully she knows some spells that can help. Levy nodded but continued to sulk, so Lucy let her be. She deftly pulled several books from the massive piles around her, prompting levy to pick one up as well. The solid-script mage smiled as Lucy sat down next to her. Lucy was sure that Wendy would have something, the little dragon slayer always did. She cracked open the book in her hands and began to read, and was soon lost in the world written on the books pages.

-Two Hours later-

_"Don't kill her," Dancer said, stepping into the light that leaked onto the path from the street. "We need to find out why she did it and who she's working for."_

_Her? Han slumped back against the wall, his knife dangling loosely, his head spinning. This is a dream, he thought._

_Dancer knelt next to the prone larcener and relieved her of her knife. He gently turned the body over._

_It was-_

"Princess."

Lucy squealed, tossing her book in the air as she fell from her pile of books. Virgo stood over her, un-phased by Lucy's reaction. "Is it time for punishment?"

Lucy sighed as she lifted herself from the floor, dusting herself off as she went.

"No Virgo, just don't scare me like that, you nearly gave me a heart attack."

"Yes, Princess. I came to inform you that we are halfway finished, but Taurus has been running on his own magical energy for quite some time and he is very tired."

Lucy noticed for the first time that the mountain of books that had once surrounded them on all sides had been reduced dramatically, it only reached past her chest now, yet more books loomed in the distance.

"I must have unconsciously released my magic, sorry Virgo."

"No need for apologies Princess, although I would like to rest as well."

Lucy nodded as Virgo faded back into the spirit world. The white puddle of cow goop that was once Taurus also returned, leaving the two girls and a lonely wagon in the Library.

Levy seemed to have moved in the past few hours and was now on the other side of the library, removing the last few books from their shelves. She was perched high up on the shelf's ladder, a large pile of books next to her. Lucy glanced at her watch and frowned when she saw how late it was. She grabbed the book she had been reading and walked over to Levy, ogling at the vast space that now filled the once cramped library.

Levy quickly descended from the shelf's ladder and smiled at Lucy, several books pressed protectively to her chest.

Lucy smiled back then commented, "I guess you're staying up late tonight?"

Levy nodded, a determined gleam in her eye. Lucy sighed and took one last look around the huge library and made for the exit, Levy happily walking beside her. She seemed to almost have forgotten about the muting spell that was cast on her just a few hours ago.

The two quickly disappeared into the darkness of the streets of Hargeon, unaware of the intense magical presence that had been watching them since they arrived at the port city.

FT

A man silently followed the two Fairy Tail mages to their apartment. He smirked as he watched the blue haired girl communicate with the busty blond with her hands, making her laugh. This had to be some sort of joke. Fairy Tail mages were considered the strongest in Fiore, there was no way these fruity girls could be members. The blond seemed to be at least mildly powerful with her keys and spell recitation, but the bluenett was far too weak to spend much effort on.

He stopped following the two women, slinking into the shadows as he backtracked to the library. Stepping into an alleyway, he pulled out a communication Lachrima and quickly called his employer. The man's huffy face appeared, his eyes squinting in concentration as they tried to center in on the tiny orb.

_"Did you find the Fire mage_?"

"One of my comrades has located him, but he is too powerful to attack directly. I've tracked a few of his friends to Hargeon, they seem rather weak so it will be easy to capture them and use them as bait to lure him to you."

His employer huffed, obviously put off by the change in their original plans. _"This could cause disastrous problems for my schedule; I am busy you know!"_

"Of course sir, but my master and I preferred actually capturing the Salamander rather than losing all our men."

His employer smirked. _"So you admit that your guild is weaker then that slayer."_

"Yes, but I am not."

His employer nodded and waved his hand, ready to end the Lachrima connection. _"I don't care what you do, as long as the Salamander is brought to me by the end of the week."_

With that, the connection ended and the man was left staring at a dark orb. He stowed the Lachrima in his coat pocket and stepped out of the alley. He turned down the empty street, heading towards the grand Hargeon library.

FT

**Notes: Here's the chapter! I wanted to finish the whole story with Bard but I figured I'd leave you hanging. By the way, the lines from the book that Lucy was reading is the second book of ****_The Seven Realms_**** series, ****_The Exiled Queen_**** by Cinda Williams Chima, It's a very good series. Please leave the reviews, they may just make the next chapter come out faster! Also, please check out my new fanfic, ****_That Day, X777_****. Please leave me some chocolate cookie reviews!**


	5. Chapter 5

**So, by the end of this chapter some of you will probably want to kill me. Don't worry, no spoilers here, it's just that the chapter is very short. And ****_why_**** would the chapter be so sort after ****_two months_**** you may ask? Because, school, school, school, laziness, exhaustion, and finally a word document malfunction, which erased the three chapters I had ready for editing. Out of depression for myself and sympathy for you dedicated readers, I threw this chapter together. Sorry... Onward, to the new chapter!**

**Disclaimer: The heist on Hiro's safe has been cancelled due to a scheduling error.**

Chapter 5 edited

Happy had given up all hope. It had been a week and still Lucy had not returned from her mission. Natsu seemed to only have gotten worse over that time, dark bags hung from his eyes and he slumped when he walked. Happy had asked him several times what it was exactly that he was dreaming about, but Natsu always shook him off. Natsu no longer left the house, except for at night, when he would slink back into the woods to be alone.

Out of desperation Happy tried to sneak sleeping medicines into Natsu's food and drink, in the hope that he would have a sound sleep, but Natsu wouldn't eat. His magic was suffering as well. Sometimes Natsu would break out into a sweat, and the temperature within the house would become unbearably hot. Other times Natsu would get cold flashes, and Happy would pile every blanket in the house on top of him. It was all beginning to look very bizarre, and Happy didn't know what to do with himself. He was completely useless.

Happy still persistently searched for ways to help his partner get a few more hours rest, (without tipping off the rest of the guild about his condition) no matter how ridiculous the idea. He had asked Cana for ideas, and she said to drink a few beer steins. Wakaba said a good smoke always put him to sleep, Bix Slow had his "babies" sing him to sleep and Juvia said that sleeping with a Gray plushy is bound to put anyone to sleep. Happy didn't think any of these were good ideas.

At the end of the day, Happy walked home alone for the third time in a row, completely dejected. He didn't even have a fish to cheer himself up. As the little Exceed rose slowly up the crest of the hill that led into the forest, he looked up just in time to see something all too disturbing. He quickly sprouted his angel-like wings and bolted behind a tree, careful not to make a single sound.

Just inside the entrance of the forest, a man stood quietly within the foliage, barely visible in the fading afternoon light. The man was tall, easily topping six feet. He wore a black cape, the hood covering his face. The faintest hint of yellow fabric peeked out from the cover of the long cape. There was an aura about the man that made Happy want to turn tail and run. A menacing cover of evil magic hung about him, and Happy wanted nothing to do with it.

He watched the man for several minutes, unmoving for fear of being caught. The man did not move either, and Happy quickly became unsure as to whether he was actually there at all. Suddenly, the man made a sharp turn, his cape billowing out behind him as he quickly slunk back into the shadows of the forest. Before Happy could even think of following him, he was gone.

Worried, Happy quickly flew back to the house that he and Natsu shared. When he arrived, he found the house empty, with no trace as to where Natsu could have gone. Panicking now, Happy flew to the Lake, the deep forest, the hut where Natsu had raised his egg with Lisanna, and the canal, and found Natsu nowhere.

Happy immediately flew for the guild, hoping against all odds that Natsu was there.

FT

Natsu panted as he dragged his exhausted body across the forest floor. His dazed mind was having trouble concentrating on all the sights, sounds, and smells of the forest. He wasn't even sure why he was stumbling around in the forest, but something was telling him to go forward, and not stop until he reached his destination. Natsu felt like crying, but he probably didn't have the energy to cry. He just wanted to sleep, but sleep would not come without nightmares.

His foot caught on a stick and he stumbled, he had nothing to hold onto and his arms lacked the strength to hold himself up, and he fell; his face digging into the hard forest floor. He laid there for some time, building the will to pick himself up, but it would not come, so he remained there for what felt like hours, days, years.

He closed his eyes, grasping at the sweet, smoky tendrils nipping at the edge of his consciousness. He embraced the darkness at the edge of his mind that was the realm of sleep, but something kept him from falling into its murky depths.

Fear. Fear of what lie waiting in his dreams, what kept him awake night after night, and haunted him in the waking hours. He sometimes wondered if one could die from sleep deprivation, and if it was possible, then he might very well spend the last few moments of his life begging for eternal sleep. The memories hiding in the darkness of his mind lashed out suddenly, besieging him with a multitude of images.

Blood, fire, people; twisted shapes and shadows danced as waves of gold spilled out onto a crimson floor. Pain, unbelievable pain washed over his broken body as he lied on the cold hard ground, watching as something monstrous shattered the sky, breaking its perfect façade into hundreds of tiny pieces.

Natsu cried out in horror, his heart quickening as he bolted to his feet, trying to escape the terrors of his mind. He wove madly through the trunks of the hundreds of these in the forest, unaware of where he was going, and he honestly didn't care, as long as he could get away from those memories.

He dashed around blindly for what seemed like ages, before he finally collapsed inside a clearing. He blinked; dazedly aware that night would soon come as he watched the sun disappear behind the trees. Natsu could faintly make out the trickle of a stream somewhere, and the call of a nightingale overhead. He turned over onto his back, groaning as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes. He knew he would get no rest tonight, even in a setting such as this. He closed his eyes and tried to calm his racing heart. He wanted to sleep so badly, to escape reality for a few short hours, but it was behind the darkness of his eyes that he found his reality. The dreams that haunted him were real, and everything struck him with biting detail.

Natsu shifted around in the cool grass until he was comfortable. He wouldn't be getting up for a while. Whether it was his exhaustion or his utter lack of will that confirmed this he was not sure, but even as he willed himself to stay awake, he felt his eyelids slowly sinking. The Nightingale seemed to sense his desperate need for sleep and quieted its call, but Natsu's keen ears could still faintly register the bird's low hum as it sung on, its music lulling him to sleep. Within a matter of seconds, Natsu eyes had closed, and a contented sigh escaped his lips. He was free from his exhausted body for now, nut his mind would continue its tirade.


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey guys, I finally got the next chapter out. I'm sorry I'm so slow at getting these out, funny story, I actually finished this chapter a while ago, it was just with my editor for a long time along with the first chapters of two one shots I'm working on. Please check them out when they go up! **

**P.S. SakuraPetal91, thank you for being so patient. The day you reviewed I tried to get ahold of my editor, but alas, she would not answer my calls! But now the chapter's up so it's a-ok!**

Chapter 6

_Natsu raced through the forest as fast as his little ten year old feet could carry him. He had to make it back to the cave and warn Igneel before Bard and his friend got there first. He couldn't believe what he had seen. Surely those men were rich enough. All the animal skins wiled high onto the wagon; the rare creatures that his father said were sacred and should never be killed._

_Natsu gritted his teeth in anger and tears threatened to fall from his dark green eyes. _So much waste,_ he thought. And for what, money? Where will killing those animals get them? What would they get for killing Igneel?_

_Natsu pushed those thoughts to the back of his head as he willed himself to run faster. He wouldn't let them take Igneel, he'd die before he let them take his family!_

_A plan started to form in his mind as he raced for the cave that he and Igneel shared. He knew what he was about to do was stupid, but he had no choice. _

_He would protect Igneel._

_Lighting his hands of fire, Natsu scorched the trees and plants as he passed them. He made sure the fire in his hands was hot enough to burn the trees, but not enough to set them ablaze. A clear trail of scorch marks followed behind him as he ran, glowing as the embers within struggled to be brought to life before dying, staining the forest floor black with ash._

_FT_

_Bard knelt in the tall grass that had managed to grow at the edge of a large clearing, watching as a thin line of smoke lifted lazily into the air from the caves entrance, dissipating as a calm wind blew it away._

_He had followed a trail of scorch marks through the forest, which eventually led him here. Joel crouched off to the side, silently loading his gun for the confrontation that would soon come. _

_Bard couldn't help but feel skeptical about this whole thing. Dragons had died off a long time ago and none had been seen for over a hundred years. He felt like a fool being led on some wild goose chase; that his "boss" wanted to get one good laugh out of him before finally pulling the plug on this whole charade. _

_He and Joel had set out almost immediately, and had found a conveniently placed trail of scorch marks that he was supposed to follow. He didn't mention to Joel that he knew there were more of his me surrounding the cave. He would feign ignorance of the situation for now, but when the time came, he would make his move._

_FT_

_He could smell them. There were dozens of people surrounding the cave. Natsu was completely trapped. He tried not to panic as he realized that there was no way for him to get out of this now. He was committed._

_He had lit a small fire near the entrance of the cave, and smoke slowly rose out and into the sky. He needed them to think Igneel was here so he could draw them in. Once they got too close, he would attack with fire while still keeping hidden. He hoped that would scare them off for a few days before Igneel returned and he and Natsu could flee together._

_Natsu hated the idea of using deception and running away in the end, but he had no choice. If he and Igneel were going to make it out of this alive, then he needed to swallow his pride just this once._

_After what felt like forever, one of them finally emerged from the woods, stepping into the clearing cautiously. Natsu's super sharp vision allowed him to see the man, and he realized it was Bard._

_Natsu scratched his head in frustration. Out of all the guys surrounding the clearing, he was the one Natsu least wanted to confront. He felt sorry for the man and honestly didn't want to make his life any harder than it already was. He could never forgive the man for helping these thugs hunt those animals, but he knew Bard had no choice. He was protecting his family, just like Natsu._

_He watched as Bard made his way over to the cave, slinking deeper inside so as to not be seen. He didn't want to hurt Bard, so he would simply disappear and give up on his plan altogether. He would make it seem like the cave was abandoned. _

_Bard neared the entrance cautiously, hesitating slightly before stepping a foot inside. The man hefted a crossbow onto his shoulder and kept it aimed up as he made his way into the cave._

_A few steps in he encountered Natsu's fire. He paused for a moment, then gritted his teeth and stomped on the fire angrily, squashing the flames under his boot. He whipped his head up quickly and turned around, stomping towards the entrance of the cave angrily. Suddenly he stopped and Natsu took a sharp breath of anticipation._

_Bard kneeled and picked up something off the ground. Natsu gulped when he realized what it was._

_A scale._

_Bard rose slowly and turned to peer into the darkness of the cave. Natsu ducked behind a large boulder and hoped that he hadn't been seen. Bard was definitely curious now and he turned back into the cave. He went in farther this time and Natsu scrambled to move on ahead of him without being seen. He would have to do something soon. If Bard went much farther he would find the large space that he and Igneel had made their home._

_When he was well ahead of Bard, Natsu sprinted down long cave. He finally reached a large open space and quickly began to his and Igneel's things, but sadly enough, there were something he couldn't hide._

_Shelves had been cut into the stone walls for Igneels scrolls and books and Natsu's knickknacks that he had collected over the years. Scorch marks covered the walls and a small hollow that had been formed by Igneel's massive body over the years was unmistakable._

_Natsu panicked. He hadn't planned for this, he never meant one of them to get this far inside the cave, but it had happened. Bard was coming, and Natsu didn't know what to do._

_He heard the shuffle of feet on the stone floor and immediately hid himself behind a boulder that he often used for target practice. Bard never noticed him, as he was too busy staring open-mouthed at the scene before him. He slung the crossbow over his shoulder and ran to the shelf. He pulled off a few scrolls and scoffed as he realized that they were written in some ancient language that he could not read._

_"__Ah, Sheele would love these," he muttered to himself. Natsu listened intently._

_Bard glanced around before placing the scroll back gently. He quickly inspected the rest of the room, completely skipping over Natsu's hiding place. Bard sighed, whether in relief or frustration, Natsu couldn't tell, but he'd like to think that no one wanted to encounter a dragon on any day._

_Bard walked back to the shelves, but started inspecting Natsu's keepsakes instead. He didn't touch any of them but he eyed them closely. His eyes skimmed over the pretty stones, leaves, and bones that Natsu had collected in his adventures and settled on a length of cloth that was neatly folded near the place where Natsu slept._

_Natsu's heart stopped. He had left his scarf at home for fear that he would lose it. Despite how long he'd had it, he still had a habit of losing his precious muffler every now and then. Also he didn't want it to get torn up. He knew his change was coming soon, and the scarf would surely be destroyed in the process._

_Bard didn't pick it up however, and simply turned around toward the way he had come._

_"__There's nothing here," he mumbled to himself. "We'll just have to come back later when the Dragon is home."_

_Natsu sighed as Bard left, but his elation was short lived, when suddenly a blinding stab of pain shot through his body. _

_The surprise caused Natsu to cry out, and his cry did not fall on deaf ears. Within seconds, Bard had returned, Crossbow armed and ready to go. He aimed it around the room and listened intently for another sound._

_Natsu was crouched on the floor behind the boulder, a hand clamped over his mouth as his body shook in pain. His spine ached, and his shoulder blades felt like they were being ripped out of his body._

Why now, damn it! _Natsu thought. His body was reacting to his feelings of being threatened and was changing to give him a fighting chance, but he didn't need this right now! There was no way he could keep quiet during the transformation, he would be caught._

_As if confirming his thoughts, his body sent a wave of pain that was like lightning shooting through his nerves. He couldn't contain his whimpers of pain as his back seemed to rip itself open. He could no longer see Bard from his position, but he was sure the man would be on him any second now. He needed to escape. In his current condition, he couldn't fight, but he also couldn't hide. Before he could make a move, however, Bard was there._

_FT_

_Bard launched himself behind the boulder, whipping his crossbow to point at the head of a- boy. He blinked in surprise as the child cried out and tried to crawl away, but fell in a miserable heap on the floor._

_Bard looked on in slight fascination and horror as the boy's back muscles rippled, and then stilled. The boy gasped and suddenly his back seemed to explode, and something knocked Bard away. _

_He slammed into the ground hard, but quickly picked himself up as he saw the boy trying to crawl away. Bard hesitated, eyes wide as he took in the sight before him. Huge, bat-like wings now sprouted from the boy's back. Thin skeleton ribbing curved in between the flaps of membrane, which glistened with moisture from their release. The wings ended with deadly claws that looked like they could rip a man to shreds. _

_A long, scaly tail curved lazily around the boy's legs, the barbed end flicking in irritation. Bard stepped forward carefully, keeping his crossbow level with the boy's head. The boy barely seemed to register his movements as he slowly crawled toward the shelves set in the cave wall. Bard watched cautiously as the boy reached the shelf and gripped the cloth from earlier in his hand. Bard gasped when he saw that the hand was covered in scales, and that each finger ended in deadly black claws._

_In his effort to retrieve the cloth, to boy's wings extended a little, revealing a knobby spine that sported tiny spikes on each bump. The boy snatched the cloth from the shelf and it unraveled, revealing a large, scaly muffler. The boy wrapped the scarf around his neck and then quickly turned so that his back was facing the wall. He took a moment to catch his breath and then acknowledged Bards presence for the first time._

_He seemed to puff up, almost like a startled cat, as he lowered himself to his hands and knees in a horizontal squat. The boy's muscles were tense and his teeth bared, ready to launch an attack the moment Bard made a threatening move._

_A deep rumbling growl that sounded like thunder filled the cave. Bard tensed, slowly lowering the crossbow so that it aimed at the boy's knee rather than his head. He realized that he was in a very precarious situation and that the moment he lowered his guard could mean certain death. He wasn't about to give this creature an opening._

_They both stared at one another, each sizing up the other, looking for weaknesses. At least that was what Bard was doing. As he stared at the unique creature in front of him, he couldn't help but feel that it was extremely distracted for an animal facing a life or death situation. Its eyes darted around the room, looking at anything _but _Bard. This creature's mentality might just be closer to a human child's than to a dragon, if that was what it was supposed to be._

_Bard lowered the crossbow and slowly set it down. The creature, that's what Bard decided to call it since he didn't really know _what _it is, flinched and immediately slid away from him, retreating towards the exit. Bard held back a curse as he raised his hands above his head, lowering himself to the creature's level so that he didn't tower over it._

_"__Hey,hey," Bard said soothingly, trying to calm the startled creature. "It's alright; I'm not going to hurt you. See, I left my weapon over there."_

_He slowly walked forward as the creature continued to back away, its growls intensifying the closer Bard got. Bard stopped moving and let it create distance. It stopped a good dozen feet away, sitting right in the entrance to the tunnel that would lead to the mouth of the cave._

_It seemed to study him for a moment before seeming to decide something. It slowly moved forward, its coal black eyes locked on him, watching warily for the slightest movement. Bard remained still, letting it approach despite his instincts telling him to run for his life. Somehow he knew that it wouldn't try to hurt him._

_The creature stopped just out of arms reach and seated itself on the stone floor, its legs crossed. Bard waited a moment before also lowering himself down, mirroring the creatures form as it watched him. When he was comfortable, it seemed to nod, and to Bards astonishment, spoke._

_"__I know you're in trouble," it rasped, "and I can help you, but you need to help me in return."_

FT

**And there's the chapter. I'm sorry to leave it right there**, **but the next chapter will be very long and will reveal a lot of things! I don't want you to know those things just yet *smiles evilly.* I hope you enjoyed this chapter, even though nothing really happened. Please review, even if you didn't like it. Just tell me how much you didn't like it. Next chapter will come out hopefully soon!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Well, after six different attempts to write this chapter, it finally gets put out for all of you to see, even if it is a small one. I feel that now I can dig into the story a little better, though there is still a bumpy road ahead of us. I was seriously considering quitting this story a few nights ago, but when I logged onto FF and re-read ya'll's reviews, I got inspired to sit down and punch my brain, hard, and just like that, inspiration started to flow. Everything will begin to come together…**

**P.S. Thank you to all of those who submitted ideas for this story. You're insight really helps!**

**Disclaimer: 'Tis not mine, and I must credit many elements of this chapter to camacazi1 (don't worry camacazi san, the use of your wonderful idea has only just begun, just not quite in the way you expect.)**

**Edit: Thank you Zafrand! As soon as I read your review I came back here and re-worded the last bit. You saved me there, though I'm surprised that no one else noticed the change... again, thanks!**

Chapter 7

When Natsu finally awoke, he was greeted by the sight of a spoon hovering over his face. A cherry red liquid was dribbled into his mouth and Natsu gagged as the taste of fresh lawn clippings assaulted his taste buds.

"Oh, you're awake." The spoon disappeared, and Natsu tried to move his head to see the person who spoke, but found that his neck was so cramped that he could hardly twitch without arcs of pain shooting through his neck and shoulders. All he could do was stare at the high wood ceiling as the person moved about the room.

From the corner of his vision, Natsu could make out a distinct circular bend in the walls of the rather small building, and with a start he realized he was at Porlyuscia's tree house. Natsu attempted to speak to the person, no doubt Porlyuscia herself, but he found that his tongue was thick and dry and felt like dead weight in his mouth.

Porlyuscia crossed the room and helped Natsu sit up and drink a glass of water before sitting down on a crate of apples beside the bed. Natsu opened his mouth to ask a question, but Porlyuscia held up a hand, signaling him to stop.

"You've been asleep for three days," the old herbalist began, slumping slightly in her seat. Natsu realized that the cranky healer had large bags under her eyes, and her hair was in disarray. She must have been up caring for Natsu the whole time.

"You're guild mates received word from Happy that you were missing, so a search was started. We were only able to find you with Gajeel's help thanks to his nose. You were on the outskirts of Magnolia in the middle of the forest. You had a dangerously high fever when they found you, and it only broke last night. I've been up caring for you for the past three days, and if I hadn't, you could very well be dead."

Natsu stared at her for a moment, trying to process all of the information. Three days, he had been asleep for a while, his guilds mates must be worried sick. His next words were stuttering as he tried to regain the use of his tongue.

"T-thank you, Porlyuscia. I'll make it up to you someday, you have my word."

Porlyuscia scoffed. "You can make it up to me by getting the hell out of my house." Her eyes softened suddenly, and her words held a hint of worry as she stared Natsu down.

"But for now, you will remain here where I can keep an eye on you. You're still physically weak, and your body has only just begun recovering from the fever. I don't want you having a relapse and ending up hanging around longer, so just stay put."

Natsu said nothing as the glare she sent his way got the message across, and he laid back down on the bed, muscles sore from lying around all day. Porlyuscia stood, hovering uncertainly for a moment before she swiftly turned her back on the young teen.

"I'll inform Fairy Tail that you're awake. Your friends will want to see you. I'll be gone when they get here; I won't hang around a bunch of smelly humans, even in my own home."

Natsu chuckled, "You're a human too, you know."

Porlyuscia stopped in front of the door, glancing back at the bedridden teen.

"No," she said. "I'm not."

With that, the healer was gone, the door to the treehouse slamming behind her. Natsu just stared at the ceiling, his eyes tracing the rings of wood within the living tree. He could faintly recall tracing those same lines many years ago, but Natsu allowed the memory to fall back under the surface, unwilling to explore deeper into his past at the moment. Yet one undeniable detail of those memories was too stubborn to go back under so soon.

"You're more human than me, Porlyuscia."

Natsu's words echoed back at him, only himself and the circular walls witness to Natsu's revelation.

FT

Lucy was worried, no, beyond worried. Worried didn't even begin to define what she was feeling right now. Anxious, fearful; that described it a little better. From the moment she was contacted by Makarov to come home immediately, to Porlyuscia telling them that Natsu had suffered serious magic deprivation and was horribly ill as a result, she had been terrified by what could have brought down the fiery mage.

Master had sent for her and Levy, as well as the other absent guild members. After Happy came crashing into the guild, spilling everything about Natsu the past few weeks, and the mysterious stranger outside the woods, Makarov had immediately ordered the guild onto the defensive. Whatever could take down Natsu was a force to be reckoned with. Even as Lucy walked down the forest path to Porlyuscia's home with Erza, Gray, Happy, Makarov, and Warren, she worried about the state she would find him. Porlyuscia hadn't gone into too much detail about Natsu's condition, but the looks on the faces of the ones who dragged him to Porlyuscia's house the night he was found only increased her dread.

All too soon they reached Porlyuscia's tree house. Erza pushed the door open quietly, and the rest filed in behind her. Natsu was asleep, snoring away on the bed, blankets pooling on the floor. He was dozing happily oblivious to the stressed guild members that now filled the room. A laugh escaped Lucy's lips before she could stop it, and then she was struggling to hold back tears of relief. He was fine, well, better than she thought he would be.

She moved towards he bed and ran her fingers through Natsu's impossibly pink hair, her fingers combing through the soft locks. Erza picked up the blanket and threw it over Natsu. He remained oblivious to all of it, a smile gracing his face even in his sleep. Lucy felt herself smiling as well, and had to restrain herself from hugging the unconscious dragon slayer.

_'Everything is going to be alright.'_

Lucy glanced at Erza's face as the armored mage leaned away, and the look in the scarlet haired woman's eyes sent a feeling of dread down Lucy's spine. Lucy glanced back at the sleeping fire mage, but suddenly her optimism from just seconds before had vanished, replaced with confusion and dread.

Something was wrong.

Lucy's eyes trailed to Makarov, who watched the goings on from the door. It had only been three days, but already bags had formed under the master's eyes. Lucy looked deep into them for the same expression that she had seen in Erza, but she did not find it, yet somehow her lack of progress only made her more uneasy.

Something was definitely wrong.

Makarov moved further into the house, silently seating himself on the rug by Porlyuscia's stove. He pulled out his pipe, lit it, and then took a long puff, his eyes closed in concentration.

"Warren," he said, his eyes opening and turning towards the dark haired mage.

"I need you to do a full psychic evaluation on Natsu. Be thorough. Whatever is happening to Natsu is not the result of mere nightmares. Someone's been inside his head. Track them down if you can."

Warren nodded and moved silently across the room. Placing his hand on Natsu's forehead, he closed his eyes, his face a mask of concentration.

"Don't try to speak to me while I do this," he warned, not waiting for a response as he disappeared into the depths of Natsu's mind.

Gray frowned and turned to Makarov. "You think this has something to do with the man Happy saw?"

Makarov harrumphed. "I think this has everything to do with that guy. Magic deprivation like what Natsu is suffering from does not occur naturally, even after traumatizing experiences when one's mental state is unstable. Whoever this guy is, he is a very skilled mage, and I won't risk the lives of my children on concerns of being over dramatic. This man is not to be trifled with."

Erza shifted nervously from her position by the bed.

"Porlyuscia didn't say how sever his magic deprivation was," Lucy started, ready to begin prying the master for information. "Who soon will he recover?"

Makarov just shook his head. "I wouldn't expect you to know what magic deprivation is, let alone understand the true depths of its horrors. I myself have only seen its effects once. Magic deprivation is not a natural occurrence. Magic drain, yes, but this is something totally different. Someone under a magic drain spell can still feel their magic and use it to some extent. When a mage suffers from magic deprivation, any contact they have with the third origin is lost, and contact with magic that they once used freely becomes severely limited. They no longer produce magic from within themselves, nor can they absorb it from the magic of the land."

Erza nodded grimly. "It's kind of like what happened to us on Tenrou. Normally we would have continued to absorb magic energy while we lied around for seven years, and we would have come out far more powerful, full of stored magic energy, but the first's spell that kept us from aging also stopped magic progression."

She stopped and looked over at Natsu, sadness plain on her face. "But what happened to us is different to what's happening to Natsu. The effects weren't permanent. We began using magic normally the moment we awoke. Natsu will never be back at full power."

It took Lucy a moment to realize the true weight of the situation. All she could do was stare in open-mouthed shock as the information began to process. Natsu of all people, the loudmouthed, hot headed dragon slayer had just lost access to his magic. Forever. This had to be a dream.

She gazed at the sleeping dragon slayer, trying to send some kind of signal, some warning. Lucy doubted that they had told him yet. They would have to soon, otherwise he would find out by himself. He would be devastated.

Gray clenched his hands, his knuckles white and his nails digging into his palms. "I can't believe we let this happen again," he growled.

Again?

Lucy's eyes widened. The master's words played back in her head, over and over again, until a single sentence made her freeze. The feeling of dread that had been building in her gut felt as if it was slowly suffocating her. A nagging suspicion worked its way into the foreground, and Lucy hoped with everything she had that she was wrong.

"Master," she said, her voice barley a whisper, yet he heard her, and nodded his head expectantly.

"You said you've seen magic deprivation before. Where did you see it? Who was it?"

They all stiffened, and suddenly the air in the room was charged, the tension so thick you could cut it with a knife.

Makarov stared the blond down, but she stared right back, unwilling to back down, even if it was the master. Gray was tense, his nails biting into his palms so hard that blood was dripping down his wrist. Erza on the other hand, looked tired, her eyes focused on something in the distance. She seemed unaware of the tension in the room as she opened her mouth to speak.

"She deserves to know, Master," Erza said, her voice deadly calm.

Makarov broke his stare, but only after giving a slight nod. He placed his pipe back in his mouth, taking a long puff before he spoke.

"I saw a very similar case of magic deprivation many years ago. I had been returning from a meeting when I was attacked by a wild animal."

Makarov paused here, his eyes unfocused, staring off into the distance. He took another puff before continuing.

"To my complete surprise, I discovered that it was not a wild animal, but a child, well it was close enough to one. He was covered in scales, and possessed a tail and a pair of wings. He looked like a dragon, trapped partially in human form."

Lucy's eyes widened. She could already see where this story was headed.

"He was quite easy to defeat, as he was seriously wounded and emaciated. But, even when I had knocked him down, and he was too weak to stand, he gripped onto my jacket like his life depended on it. I saw how desperate he was, and I took pity on him."

"I brought him here, and Porlyuscia treated him while we tried to learn more about him. After a few weeks, he was beginning to look healthier, and was up and about before we knew it. Little did we know that he was being drained of magic power the whole time. One day, he disappeared, and Porlyuscia, and I searched the whole day for him. We found him in the woods crying. His tail, scales, and wings had disappeared. It hurt me to watch him, a magical being, helpless to do anything as its magic power slipped away along with its last tie to its former self. It took a long time for him to recover, but when he did, I was happy to introduce him to the family. Imagine my surprise when I see that he can still use fire magic perfectly fine. He had lost his true dragon magic, but there was still plenty left over.

_A dragon child. _

_Fire magic._

Lucy could say nothing. There was no way. She looked to Gray for confirmation, and hated that she found it. It was the same for Erza. Lucy's eyes trailed back to Natsu, peacefully sleeping on, as if they weren't discussing the end of his world right next to him.

Natsu was the child. Natsu was a dragon that had lost it's wings. He was the person who had gone through the pain and suffering of losing his magic. He would be devastated when he woke up. He would have to relive the pain of losing his magic all over again.

She couldn't imagine being detached from her spirits, or from the constant energy that flowed through her body and the world around her. How could this happen?

Lucy slumped next to the bed, her hand drifting up to Natsu's arm. She felt that if she didn't hold on to him, he would drift away like a feather in the wind.

_I'm here for you Natsu. I won't let you suffer again._

**Here it is! I feel soooo good for not giving up on this story and getting my butt in gear!**

**Reviews: **

**Animewiz354: Slow down buddy, all in due time! Your idea will most definitely happen ****_eventually_****, but not for a bit, and not in the way you expect!**

**Guest: That would be cool wouldn't it?**

**Camacazi1: I knooooowwwww! I want to know too, because I still have no idea how this will end, I'm just going with it :D**

**SakuraPetal91: I'm sorry! * Desperately picks up pieces and duck-tapes them back together.**

**SakuraPetal91: YES SOMEONE DID MENTION YOU IN THEIR STORY OMG! This was also my exact reaction when someone else also mentioned me in their story. You're worth the text space, Sakura san, and thank you for being one of my most dedicated readers! P.S. I also wish I could update sooner, but band, food, sleep, other stories, and blah blah blah blah. I know exactly how you feel about stories though… :(**

**Layla1122: Cliff hangers are the best :D, and thank you!**

**Guest: Here it is, we're cool now right?**


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